Chapter Sixteen
Wendy slipped out of the house early Sunday morning, Cato still sleeping in her bed. They spent the rest of Friday night, along with all of Saturday further exploring both their pleasure and their love.
She ached and was tired, but it was worth it.
That said, duty called. Friday afternoon had been very productive, but they weren’t done. The colonel loaned her more than a few lower enlisted, and Titus more than a few hybrids, to help with last minute preparations. Vincent and the other vendors didn’t seem to mind the military-grade help.
Despite the fact that everything was nearly ready, Wendy still worried that they had slacked by not at least checking in on the ballroom Saturday. Something might have fallen, or some fool private might have screwed something up.
She decided to walk to the ballroom. It gave her more time to consider her new relationship. Relationship didn’t almost seem strong enough to describe something that might have been the result of fate.
Wendy wasn’t sure she bought into all of the Vestal story, but she couldn’t deny that she’d been drawn to Cato in a way she’d never before experienced. It just felt true.
She let out a quiet chuckle. Lying in bed all day on her day off had been amazing. Thinking on it, she didn’t think she’d had a day like that pretty much ever in her life.
Most of her relationships had been when she was just a teen, and when she entered the military, they’d become downright rare. She didn’t have the time, and she worried about unit cohesion, so avoided dating the available military men.
Wendy reached the ballroom and stepped in. Surprisingly, Colonel Hall stood inside, her arms folded behind her back.
“Seems like everything is nearly ready,” the colonel said.
“Ma’am,” Wendy said, and smiled. “I think we were able to pull it off. Still going to be a full day of setting things up and getting the catering in order, but we’re ready for this, especially with the added help.”
She watched as the colonel walked around the room, examining all the progress they had made. “It seems that you and this man make a good team.”
Wendy nodded. “He worked very hard to help make it an affair that all the men will feel welcome at.”
Colonel Hall shook her head. “I’ve also heard that you might be teaming up in a more social way.”
Wendy was shocked. Never in the several years she’d been with Colonel Hall had her superior asked her about her private life.
“Ma’am, I didn’t think there was any order prohibiting—”
The colonel held up her hand. “Relax, there’s no order.” She furrowed her brow. “I thought about it, given our position here, but I also realized if I issued an order like that, Titus and his people would take it as a grave insult. It’d make things worse. Plus, I didn’t really think it’d be an issue.”
“I don’t understand, then.”
“This isn’t about the mission. This is about you as a woman.” Colonel Hall sighed. “Take this as friendly advice. This won’t end well.”
“Why?” Wendy frowned slightly. “Is it because he’s hybrid?”
Colonel Hall let out a short laugh.
“Not even the slightest,” she said with a smile. “I might be getting up there, but I’m not blind. I get the attraction. They are… the ultimate soldiers.”
She winked at her, and Wendy’s mouth fell open. This was as frank as she’d ever seen her superior.
“Look, it’s not because he’s a hybrid. If only it was so simple. It’s because he’s a man.” She patted Wendy on the shoulder. “I’ve seen you fight your way to where you are. The men respect, you and you work damn hard. You could really go places. I’d just hate to see you throw it all away on some man. Sure, he’s an impressive specimen, but he’s still a man.”
“How is being with Cato throwing things away?”
“You can’t be with him. You think you’re going to be permanently assigned to Luna Lodge? We might be here years, or they might reassign us in six months. Needs of the Army. Then, what? You going to leave, throw away your career and live with him?” She let out another long sigh. “This is where him being a hybrid matters. The fact that we’re here shows how unstable things are. For all we know, next week, everyone will stop caring about hybrids, or maybe they’ll kick them all out of the country. Are you ready to sacrifice your entire career for that kind of uncertainty?”
Wendy felt her throat close up. She had worked hard, and she was proud of the work that she had done. All this time she had told herself that a relationship was the last thing she needed. There were goals to be met, and it wouldn’t happen with a man in the picture.
Then she met Cato, and he changed everything.
But had he? She still wanted the same things she wanted before. Only now she wanted him there with her. She wasn’t even sure that was something she could consider. The fact was that he was a hybrid, and she was still a member of the military.
The colonel was right. Their lives were not their own to direct.
“Just think it over,” Colonel Hall said with a sad smile.
Wendy nodded. “Thank you, ma’am. I will.”
Her mentor stepped out of the room. Wendy could already feel her heart closing off from the outside world, trying to make a wall so she wouldn’t be hurt when she really had to say good-bye to the only man she’d ever loved, maybe the only she ever would.
* * *
Cato hadn’t managed to meet up with Wendy before the party started Sunday evening. He’d tried to catch her alone, but it never seemed to work out in his favor. Either someone stepped in the way, or she would slip out without him ever even seeing.
At first, he’d just thought it was the busyness that came with the party. With hundreds of guests and dozens of support staff, it was the largest concentration of people he’d ever dealt with outside one of the protests. In such a situation, it initially made sense that he might not be able to get even a minute of alone time with Wendy.
But he wasn’t an idiot. A few times might have been an accident, but it was more than clear that she was doing her damnedest not to be around him. He was starting to think she missed her calling as a super-secret spy.
Even the pesky reporter Jill Hope hadn’t been able to catch her for another interview before the big party. Instead Wendy had forced him to do it solo, which didn’t go nearly as well. Congenial was something he was not.
That surprised him. She seemed to take her duty seriously, and PR was part of her current task, which meant there was something strong enough to make her risk not doing her best job.
There was no two ways about it, Wendy was avoiding him.
Cato wracked his brain all day with why that would be the case. The last couple days had been amazing, he thought. They’d made love so many times. Each time he’d made sure she was just as satisfied as him.
So much so that he’d made a game of it. How many times he could get her off before he couldn’t hold back anymore.
Four times was as high as he’d gotten, but that was mainly because he was so desperate to be inside her he just couldn’t hold out.
Cato tugged at the collar of the button-down shirt he was wearing and gave up trying to be as formal as he wanted. He flicked the button and found he could breathe a little better. He still hated the little buttons and slacks he was wearing, but he had wanted to show her that he could look good as well. Or something like that.
Light music played in the background. He glanced around the room. People chatted with one another. Hybrid and human. The event seemed to meet all their expectations, just as he and Wendy had hoped. He could see the cameraman making his way through the party, catching nice shots of people as they seemed to be enjoying things.
“You did well,” Titus said as he stepped over to him.
Cato was still pissed at his leader, but he’d take the compliment.
“It was all Wendy,” he said stiffly.
Titus laughed. “I somehow doubt that.”
Cato turned to frown at him.
“Trouble with the newlyweds?”
Cato grunted. Last thing he wanted to do was talk about his troubles with Titus.
His leader clapped him on the shoulder. “I’m sure it’s just jitters,” he said. “She’ll come around.”
He stopped abruptly when Jill made her way quickly in their direction.
“No more interviews,” Cato said quickly.
Jill shook her head, and for the first time he could see that the color had washed from her face.
“Where are the children?” she asked quickly.
Cato frowned, but it was Titus who spoke first.
“At home,” he said. “What’s wrong?”
She shook her head. The normally well put together woman was shaking and pale.
“I don’t know,” she said quickly. “It might be nothing, but we just received a tip.”
Cato narrowed his eyes. “What sort of tip?”
Jill looked to him, her eyes brimmed in fear. “They said there’s a bomb in the building.”